WordPress is an open-source creation platform called a content management system (CMS). It has simplified the process of creating websites and is suitable for small and large websites. After launching your website, you need to ensure your website is SEO compliant.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the visibility of your website on an organic search engine result page (SERP). A high rank in the SERP results in higher traffic for your website. Good SEO strategy involves working activities like keyword research, creating engaging, useful content, and working on on-page and off-page SEO activities. WordPress has various plugins to implement your SEO Strategy. Yoast SEO and Rank Math SEO are two top-performing SEO plugins on WordPress.
Yoast SEO – Introduction
Yoast SEO is a free SEO plugin with features to optimize your website and help it perform better in search engines. Joost de Valk launched the plugin in 2010. The plugin helps you optimize individual pages and posts for SEO. The comprehensive Yoast SEO tools help optimize your content and improve user experience. You can use Yoast’s excellent on-page SEO insight feature to incorporate the target keywords on the page. It helps to optimize your title, meta descriptions, and URLs. Yoast Free SEO tool is sufficient to manage your SEO through the premium account, and Extention offers greater functionality tools.
Your team of in-house writers will love the plugin as it prioritizes the reader’s experience and provides actionable tips to optimize content.
Rank Math SEO – Introduction
You can use Rank Math SEO to optimize your website, giving you real-time insight without requiring you to leave the WordPress interface. You can use it to optimize titles and meta descriptions with a snippet preview. Rank Math helps you optimize their content with built-in suggestions based on best SEO practices. MyThemeShop development team developed the plugin in 2018, and it has since become one of the top performing plugins on WordPress. It is currently used on over 500,000 websites.
You can use Rank Math to add meta-titles, descriptions, and open graph metadata to your blogs. It is easy to generate XML sitemaps, connect to Google Search Console, and control access to RankMath based on user role.
Yoast SEO Vs.Rank Math – Installation
Both Yoast SEO and Rank Math are easy to install.
Rank Math setup wizard will help you configure the basic settings. Additional features will be unlocked when you link your Rank Math account.
In the setup wizard, you can configure
- XML sitemaps
- Basic schema data
- Google Search Console and Analytics connection (optional)
- Other basic settings
After you complete your basic setup, you have the option to proceed to advanced settings in the module manager like
- Redirect
- Monitoring 404 errors
- Role Manager (access control)
- Setting default schema for different types of posts and other advanced schema marking.
The module manager shows you available features and you can select features you want to activate and use. You will have to activate the advanced mode to access all the features.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO configuration wizard walks you through setup. You can access it from the WordPress Toolbar.
The wizard can help you set things like
- Search engine optimization title template.
- Simple schema information for your website.
- Mark things that are parts of site that require indexing.
Any problems with your website will be shown in the Yoast SEO dashboard. Additionally, the dashboard provides useful hints and tips.
Yoast SEO uses a modular approach. You have the option of activating and deactivating features as per your requirements. The features tab shows you all the features you have access to.
Yoast SEO Vs. Rank Math – Keywords
Both Yoast SEO and Rank Math support SEO analysis when you create content. Just add the keywords and the plugins to analyze content to determine if the words are well optimized and if changes are required.
Rank Math free version allows you to analyze multiple keywords, while Yoast free versions allow only one keyword to be analyzed at one time.
Both tools help with keyword optimization within your post editor and show a green light once content is optimized. E.g. They encourage you to use focus keywords in the heading and monitor keyword density in the text.
Rank Math
You can use Rank Math free version to analyze 5 focus keywords simultaneously. Once you enter the keywords.
Rank Math analyzes content it –
- Assigns a score between 0-100 along with a color code ranging from red to green. If you score above 80 and green is good.
- Lists specific tips and whether you have meet them. Is the focus keyword in the title? How many times the word appeared in the content.
You can easily toggle between the 5 keywords by clicking them on the list.
If you connect to your Rank Math account you can use the Google Autocomplete feature to find more relevant focus keywords. Just start typing a phrase in the focus keyword field for keyword suggestions. These suggestions help you select the keywords.
Rank Math helps premium version allows you to reorder the words.
Yoast’s free version allows you to analyze only a single keyword, but the paid keyword option allows you to focus on multiple keywords. The analysis is similar to Rank Math – you input the keyword and can access the tips at the side or bottom of the editor.
Yoast SEO Vs. Rank Math – The Free Features List
Rank Math has comprehensive free features to help you rank in SEO rankings. If we compare the number of free features offered, Rank Math has a clear lead.
Features of Yoast SEO
- Set SEO titles/meta description – You can use Rank Math to manually change your SEO description and SEO titles for individual content or use the templates provided.
- XML sitemaps – Rank Math allows users to create customized XML sitemaps
- Sitewide Schema -You can use Yoast SEO to create a sitewide schema for your website.
- Content schema markup – Yoast SEO allows users to set default sitewide schema or use custom schema for individual content.
- Search console – Use the Yoast SEO search console to verify your website.
- Social media console – Yoast SEO is a handy social media console that allows users to control how images and content will be displayed on their social media platforms.
- Basic WooCommerce SEO – If you have an e-commerce website, you can use the Basic WooCommerce SEO feature to set your shop page, product description, and titles.
- Cornerstone Content – You can mark the important pages on your website as Cornerstone.
- Breadcrumbs – Yoast SEO offers useful Breadcrumb features. The handy feature allows users to identify where they are on your website and how far they are from the homepage. This is particularly useful if your website is large.
- Link Counter – The link counter allows you to see how many internal links are there on a page.
Features of Rank Math
- Meta descriptions and titles – Rank Maths allows manually changing SEO descriptions and titles for each content or opting for the templates to be applied automatically.
- Social media descriptions – Use Rank Math to control how images and content will be displayed on all your social media handles.
- Focus keyword analysis (for more than one keyword) – Use Rank Math to verify if your web content is optimized for specific keywords.
- XML sitemap – You do not have to rely on the default WordPress sitemap. RankMath XML sitemap offers greater customization to meet all your requirements.
- Structured schema/data – Use Rank Math to set sitewide schema for your website. RankMath allows you to set schema for specific sections.
- Search console – You can submit sitemaps automatically by linking your website to Google Search Console. YU Your website can be linked to the Google Search Console to submit sitemaps automatically. You can view Search console analytics inside your WordPress dashboard.
- Knowledge graph and local SEO – You can use RankMath to optimize your website for local search results.
- Image SEO – RankMath automatically assigns Title and alt tags to images to help improve image search engine optimization.
- Internal link suggestions – While you are content working in the WordPress editor, Rank Math will recommend additional content on your site for linking.
- Breadcrumbs – You use RankMath to add Breadcrumbs that help users navigate your website more easily.
- Link counter – RankMath’s handy link counter allows you to see how many external and internal links are for posts and pages on your website.
- Redirects – You can use Rank Right to control and add 301 and 302 redirects.
- 404 monitor – You can monitor 404 errors on the website.
- Google Analytics – You can use RankMath to add a Google Analytics tracking code and monitor stats from the WordPress dashboard.
- Basic WooCommerce SEO – RankMath offers Basic WooCommerce SEO optimization to add descriptions and titles for shops and products.
Yoast Vs Rank Math – The Premium Features List
Yoast Premium features include
- Redirect Manager – This allows you to create and manage 301 and 302 redirects.
- Internal link suggestion – Yoast SEO will suggest other content your site can be linked to.
- Internal link blocks – You do not have manually add internal link blocks. It is added automatically.
- Multiple focus keywords – You can analyze your content for multiple keywords.
- Generate keyphrases – You can use Yoast to generate key phrases
Yoast SEO offers the flexibility of additional paid add-ons for specific SEO services such as
- Local SEO – Yoast SEO provides structured data for local businesses.
RankMath premium feature includes
- Keyboard rank tracking – You can track your search engine rankings and keyword performance for a period of a year.
- Google trends integration
- Google video SEO sitemap
- Google news SEO sitemap
- Multiple locations for SEO
- More than 20 pre-defined schemas
- Google AdSense earning history
- Automatically watermark social media images
Rank Math gives users the flexibility of disabling features you do not need.
Yoast SEO Vs. Rank Math – How User Friendly Is It?
If you compare the useability of Yoast SEO vs Rank Math both are intuitive and easy to use. Both plugins have interactive wizards that helps you through your SEO activity.
Rank Math comes with two modes – easy for beginners and an advanced version for SEO specialists who prefers complete control over their website. It has a modern and clean user interface ensures users have an improved user experience. Even first-time users can access the system easily.
Yoast SEO has a traditional interface that has not been modified for some time and may seem dated. Even though some users find Yoast SEO dated, several users prefer the familiar interface. Yoast SEO is also intuitive and easy to navigate.
Yoast SEO Vs. Rank Math – Google Search Console Integration
Webmasters use Google Search Console to monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot issues that affect website ranking. You can use the console to get insights about your website keywords, page performance, and indexing.
RankMath
You may check Search Console reports using your SEO dashboard with Rank Math. It needs to be validated after being connected to Google Search Console. This makes it possible for Rank Math to retrieve and show data. The WordPress dashboard will then display the results.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO does help in webmaster site verification. However, the plugin lacks an interface that lets you view your site Search Console information directly in the WordPress site dashboard.
Yoast SEO Vs Rank Math – Pricing
The free Yoast SEO and Rank Math version is available as plugins on WordPress.org. The premium versions of the plugins give you the option of more advanced features. RankMath launched its premium version in November 2020. This did not affect the features already offered on the free version. RankMath premium version is more affordable than Yoast SEO for three reasons –
- Rank Math’s top-level prices are lower than Yoast SEO.
- Rank Math’s premium plans support unlimited websites, while Yoast SEO does not offer unlimited licenses.
- RankMath has a single premium plan that offers all features, while Yoast SEO offers multiple premium plans. You can purchase add-on you require.
Yoast SEO Vs Rank Math – Which One Is Best?
If we compare Yoast SEO vs. Rank Math, both plugins perform well. However, Rank Math comes with several advanced features that no SEO plugin currently offers. It is an excellent source for digital marketers interested in SEO.
Rank Math allows you to select the features you require, so you do not have to overload your website. Rank Math is a lighter plugin than Yoast and is an excellent solution if you are performance oriented.
Yoast SEO is a popular choice if you want basic SEO for your website. The free version is sufficient for your content, and beginners find the helpful suggestion useful. Yoast SEO provides valuable resources to its users by offering free and premium courses.
Rank Math interface is user-friendly and performs several tasks automatically. The plugin is robust and is an excellent tool for both beginners and advanced users. RankMath offers a money-back guarantee and 24×7 customer support.
Yoast SEO is still the market leader, but Rank Math is fast gaining momentum. Exploring both tools and selecting the best option for your website is a good idea.